meet the teacher

Brooke is starting at a new school, and although they don't have Meet the Teacher until a few weeks into the school year, we picked up her schedule a week before school and were able to walk her around to her classes.  It was in the middle of the day, but Kevin was able to leave work to be there for Brookie.  She is on Team PVU (each group of 125ish kids is on a university "team"), and hers is the only 5th grade team that meets downstairs.  Her core classes are all clustered together, and they move with their team throughout the day, which eased her nerves a bit.   

Her homeroom teacher is Mrs. Klingman (who she instantly fell in love with).

Apparently it was too bright for the boys, but I was SO glad that Kevin could be there with us as we help Brooke through this transition.

We had Meet the Teacher for Colby the next week, and he will be with Ms. Stevens.  His "switch teacher" (Mrs. Kelsick) taught first grade last year, so as we walked over to her room, Colby whispered to me, "Mrs. Kelsick knows me and I think she likes me."  She lit up when he walked in and gave him the biggest hug.  I told her what Colby said to me and she confirmed that she definitely likes my sweet boy.  It's gonna be a great year!

The kids loved going back to see all their old teachers.  We absolutely love Daulton and feel so grateful for amazing teachers and staff! Colby's Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Salinas...

First grade teachers (Mrs. Farwell and Mrs. Byrd)

Brooke's second grade teacher, Mrs. Blanton, who is now the school librarian and loves both of my kiddos..

Third Grade Teachers (Mrs. Evans and Mrs. Howell)

Fourth Grade teachers, Ms. Gutierrez (who got married over the summer and is now Mrs. Calderon) and Mrs. Brown.

It felt surreal that Brooke wouldn't be attending Daulton anymore, but I still made her get in the picture.

A few weeks into the school year, we were able to finally meet Brooke's teachers.  It couldn't have come at a better time because we had some serious issues at the beginning of the year.  During the first week of school, Brooke informed us that a boy named Asher (who she knew from Daulton), was constantly harassing her about being his girlfriend.  Brooke has never had to deal with this kind of stuff, but she told us that she just told him that she didn't want to be his girlfriend.  After a few days of similar complaints, I emailed the two teachers of the classes she shared with Asher and cc'ed the Vice Principal as well.  

Hello,

I want to start off by letting you know how much my daughter is enjoying fifth grade.  She looks forward to going to school each day and has nothing but positive things to say about all of her teachers and the other staff members.  But last Thursday, she mentioned that a boy (Asher) kept making comments to her about being his girlfriend.  She asked him to stop, but unfortunately, that hasn't deterred him.  (This is something that also happened with him at Daulton, so not sure why he continues to pester her.) I talked to her over the weekend about how to handle the situation and about ways she can ask him to stop, and she felt like it was handled yesterday, but there was another incident today. 

Before dismissal, he approached Brooke, brushed up next to her, and said, "Hey, baby." She said he continued to make comments about how "she knew she loved him" while making kissing noises. Brooke felt very uncomfortable.  Asher then told Mrs. Biehl that Brooke didn't want to be his girlfriend, and Brooke was able to express her frustration that he won't stop despite her requests for him to stop. 

I just wanted to bring this to your attention because I don't want it to continue.  Brooke said that Mrs. Klingman told her to "let her know if that boy is bothering her", which I greatly appreciate.  Brooke also let us know that you allowed her to move tables last week, Mr. Collette, so again, I am very grateful. 

I'm hoping that simply having the conversation with the AP today will be enough to stop the behavior,  but I want my daughter to feel comfortable in her classes. She loves school and I don't want this to be something she has to worry about.

Thanks so much for helping us navigate this situation,

Katie Meador 

The male teacher (Mr. Collette) responded first thing in the morning and let me know that he had zero tolerance for boys behaving this way, and that he would take care of it immediately.  Brooke's homeroom teacher (Mrs. Klingman) called me on the phone the next morning and told me that she was responding to my email, but then decided she wanted to call me so I could hear her voice and know that her "mama bear" was out and that she would handle it.  

They both moved Asher across the room from Brooke and it seemed like that helped, but as soon as they had a sub, the pestering started again.  It also started happening at dismissal, where Asher would walk next to Brooke and was making kissing noises at her. I was livid when I found out, so again, I emailed the Vice Principal.

Good Afternoon Ms. Biehl,

I just wanted to follow-up with you about the situation with my daughter, Brooke. Overall, I think the situation has been better, but today she had issues with Asher again in Mr. Collette's class.  Brooke informed me that there was a sub today, and I think Asher took full advantage of it.  She said he was saying things like, "Brooke is my girlfriend.  I love her, and she loves me" across the room.  He was also making kissing noises at her.  Apparently the substitute told him to stop, but he continued doing it.  

Then he walked over to throw something in the trash and said, "If I make this, Brooke's my girlfriend."  He missed and then muttered, "I wish she was dead."  I am very concerned about the way he is treating my daughter and the comments he is making to her.

She loves her schedule and all of her classes so I know she doesn't want to change that, but I'm just shocked that Asher continues to behave in this way. You mentioned that I should inform you if this happened again, so I wanted to let you know asap.

Thanks for your help in this matter,

Katie Meador

The next morning, as I was getting ready for work, Ms. Biehl called me to let me know that she pulled Brooke into her office to talk about everything.  She said that she had Brooke tell her everything that had been happening and when it all started.  As Brooke was about to stand up to leave, Ms. Biehl asked her if she felt safe around Asher.  Brooke then told her that he threatened to stab her with scissors if she wouldn't be his girlfriend.  I can't even describe the feelings in my body when she said those words.  I was shocked, enraged, scared, and distraught.  She could tell she caught me off guard, and apologized for saying it so bluntly.  She said she thought I knew about that, which I definitely didn't because there is no way I would've sent her to school knowing that information. I was also so confused as to why Brooke didn't tell me that because I had her read the emails I was writing the staff to ensure that I had the account documented as it actually happened.  

Ms. Biehl said that as soon as Brooke told her about the threats (apparently he also threatened to stab her with colored pencils), she immediately pulled him out of her classes and initiated a safety plan and a stay-away agreement that was read to Asher by the campus police officer.  Basically, he was not allowed to approach or talk to Brooke, and he wasn't allowed to send anyone else to talk to her on his behalf. I was relieved that they took immediate action, but I was so distraught.  How could I go off to work when I received news like that? I called Kevin immediately and we were both unsure what to do.  It was only my third day of work, so I didn't want to miss already, but I wanted to feel peace that our girl was safe. I said a million prayers and headed to work, calling my mom on the way to have a good cry.

I had a scary situation at my school that day (I'll post details of that later), but I was very anxious to go pick Brooke up at the end of the day.  As she walked out the door, I just squeezed her.  I wanted to talk to her right away, so as soon as we were home, I let Colby go watch a show so that I had uninterrupted time with Brooke.  I asked her about her meeting with Ms. Biehl and she admitted that she was a little nervous when she was called into her office.  Before she left Mrs. Klingman's room, she gave her a big hug, which I'm sure helped.  I asked why she didn't tell me about the stabbing comments and she said she thought she did tell me.  She definitely didn't, so I still don't know if she was worried that it would worry me, or if she somehow blocked it out??  She told me that she didn't really think he would do that, but it was obviously still very worrisome. (She had started with her eye tic again the week leading up to this phone call, so I think subconsciously this was all affecting her in a negative way although she still seemed happy about going to school.)

That night was Meet the Teacher, so we definitely wanted to show up and speak to the people we had been emailing. The teachers were all wonderful and Mr. Collette and Mrs. Klingman specifically told me to keep emailing my concerns to Ms. Biehl.  Mrs. Klingman told us that when Asher came back from meeting with the campus police officer, she told him that "he was lucky a dad wasn't involved" because her husband would have been irate.  I thought it was a weird comment when Kevin was standing right there next to me, and as soon as we got home, Kevin told me he was offended by what she said.  Just because I was the one sending the emails didn't mean we weren't discussing the situation together and reviewing the email as a team.  Besides, what was he supposed to do?  Show up at the school and beat down a 5th grader? 

That night, he did some research and printed off the 50 page Mansfield ISD Code of Conduct and highlighted all the things that related to Brooke's situation.  We stayed up late composing another email... 

Good Evening Ms. Biehl,

I wanted to first thank you for calling this morning to let me know about your meeting with Brooke and the subsequent removal of Asher from her classes.  I was definitely caught off guard with the threats Brooke shared with you, so I appreciate the kind way you handled my reaction. I was deeply disturbed by the threats made to my daughter, but I appreciated all that you did to try to remedy the situation. 

My husband and I have spent time today trying to process everything and we've found the MISD Student Code of Conduct to be very helpful. We understand that you will be working within this framework to navigate the situation. In the code, it is clear that Brooke has been the victim of bullying, harassment, and assault (verbal threats).  The code references a Campus Behavior Coordinator and a Threat Assessment and Safe and Supportive School Team, so we wanted to clarify who those people are.  You also mentioned a district person that helps in this situation, but I didn't write down her name.  

We are grateful that you were quick to remove him from the classes, but is he still in PVU?  If so, I'm concerned that he still will be around Brooke during lunch, recess, dismissal, etc. She said that he doesn't bother her during lunch or recess, but due to the threats he has made, the thought of him being near her is alarming. Will all the PVU teachers be made aware of his restrictions to not approach Brooke?

We have several questions and would really love to meet in person with you and Mr. Gibson to discuss. We would like to better understand the steps being taken to manage the student's behavior and ensure Brooke's safety.

I also wanted to formally document my conversation with Brooke about the threats.  When I talked with her after school, she said she thought she had told me about the threats that occurred earlier in the week. On Monday, Brooke was in Mr. Collette's class when Asher made the comment that he would stab her with his scissors if she wouldn't be his girlfriend.  Brooke stood up immediately and went and told Mr. Collette, who took Asher outside his classroom to talk to him.  On Tuesday or Wednesday (Brooke wasn't sure which), he made a similar comment about stabbing her with a pencil.  She didn't tell the sub, but she said she told you at dismissal.  Asher had already left for the day, so Brooke said you told her there wasn't anything you could do at that time.  I don't know if she really made it clear to you that he had threatened her because you also seemed shocked by your conversation with Brooke today. 

Please let me know when we can meet to discuss.  And again, we value this school and the staff members that have loved and cared for our daughter since day one.  We just want her to be safe and able to enjoy her time learning at school. 

Thanks so much,

Katie and Kevin Meador 

I didn't receive a response to that email for 6 days, which really surprised me.  We wanted to give them a few days to respond, assuming they would be in contact with the district attorneys, but after 6 days, I was tired of waiting.  I called Ms. Biehl on the phone and she had somehow missed my email.  She told me that I can always call if I don't get a response, and I was wishing I had since I'd been worrying needlessly for almost a week.

We met with her and Mr. Gibson a few days later, which was very comforting.  They explained that since Brooke happened to be on the team that had the "push in" teachers to help some students that need it (Asher included), he would not be moved to a different team.  Brooke didn't want to switch teams either since she loved all her teachers and had made some great friends already, so we were hoping that the stay-away agreement would be enough. 

I snapped this picture as we were walking into the school with our precious girl.  I was a basket of nerves that day, so seeing Kevin hold Brookie's hand and knowing that we would do anything to protect her, gave me a little bit of peace. 

Mrs. Klingman (homeroom teacher) who teaches social studies...

Mrs. Sowell, who teaches math...

Mrs. Batie, who teaches ELAR...

Mr. Palmer, who teaches science...

And Mr. Collette, who teaches Super Science (her 9 week elective)...

This was a really weird way to start the school year, but I am so thankful for amazing teachers who instantly loved Brooke and were doing everything they could to ensure that she was well taken care of and safe during her time at school!